Bottle and cup tethers and leashes of various design have been described in the past. Typically such devices are in the form of a fabric strap with loops at each end. Conventional straps are subject to knotting, and undesirably snag on or between articles such as child seats and high chairs. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060163301 by Rhodes et al. discloses a bottle tethering device with interconnected straps having open loops with buckles to adjust the diameter of the loops. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080296325 by Tepper discloses a bottle/can holder that includes a strap of nylon webbing which possesses open loops with hook and loop closure means at the ends. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20090000083 by Richard et al. discloses a toy tether including an elastic strap with open loops having either hook and loop closure means or button or snap closure means at each end.
While the aforementioned devices are capable of tethering a bottle or sippy cup to an attachment point such as the arm rest of a car seat, configurations including conventional straps, buckles and fasteners are soiled easily by liquids or food. Hook and loop type fasteners frequently employed by past tethers are readily unfastened by toddlers. In addition to the foregoing inconveniences, a troubling problem is the constriction hazard posed by devices incorporating straps of any length. What is needed is a safe bottle and cup tether that possesses among other features, an easily cleaned surface, is readily transportable, and can be adapted to fit to sippy cups and bottles of various design.
It would be desirable to provide a bottle and cup tether that exceeds the utility of past tethers by resisting soiling, is sanitizable and possesses an elastic article retention member that prevents retained articles from being thrown or discarded by a child.
It would be further desirable to provide a cup and bottle tether that is flexibly extendable so that children can bring the tethered cup to their mouth without having the tether catch, tangle or hang on other articles.
It would be especially desirable to provide a cup and bottle tether having the foregoing desirable features that in addition, naturally resists accidental constriction about a body part such as a child's wrist or neck and can spontaneously unravel due to its physical characteristics.